This is looking pretty bad, folks.With Hurricane Rita blossoming into a Category 5, I'll almost certainly be hosting my folks this weekend. We rode out 1983's Hurricane Alicia in Houston with nothing more than a bunch of downed tree limbs and no power for half a day, but this storm is shaping up to be much bigger and badder.
Even though my folks don't live in the part of Houston subject to mandatory evacuation, there's just no telling what a huge storm like this will do. I think it's best to gauge the immediate aftermath from an inland vantage point.
According to the most recent projections on Rita's path, whatever's left of the hurricane appears to be headed close to Austin by Saturday. We'll probably be getting tropical storm force winds with Category 1 hurricane gusts, which could knock out power.
Everyone was stocking up on bottled water when I dropped by the supermarket yesterday afternoon. I'd describe the mood there as brisk but not panicked. I can only imagine the anxiety level closer to the coast.
There's still no telling how Rita will affect the ACL Music Fest, but getting wet is a safe bet.
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Those of us in Ada, Oklahoma, are praying for you guys down there in Texas.
I'd fill up your car today. Gasoline price gouging will be "off da hook" as the youngsters say.
I'm thinking of everyone to the southeast, and hoping your folks got out of Houston okay -- I saw CNN talking to a fellow this morning who'd traveled 40 miles on I-45 in THIRTEEN HOURS. A nasty record, even for Houston traffic. They're supposed to have contra-flowed the roads by now. It's a crazy scene.
Freeport... my birthplace. Looks like ground zero on most of the projections. My sister evacuated yesterday, toting her husband, two-year-old, autistic five-year-old and neurotic mini-greyhound. Nothing like having an anxious pet who can look me in the eye during a vertical leap.
Anyway, I can only imagine what that particular exodus was/is like.
This sucks, really sucks. I hope my family in Angleton and Lake Jackson have homes to return to.
And you guys be careful in Austin. I imagine everyone's taking it pretty seriously.
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